Retention & Churn Audit
A retention and churn audit from Science of Apps is a 2–4 week behavioral review of why users stop returning or cancel. We combine interviews, review mining and journey analysis to find the psychological causes of churn and the product changes most likely to reduce it. Growth, ₹1,95,000 in India and $6,650 in the US, is the usual fit.
Problems this audit solves
- “Users like the app at first, then quietly stop opening it.”
- “Subscriptions cancel after the first renewal.”
- “Engagement depends on notifications people increasingly ignore.”
- “We don't know why customers churn — exit surveys say 'too expensive'.”
- “Our streaks and gamification stopped working.”
What we evaluate
Habit and return triggers
Prompts, reminders and rewards assessed with the Fogg Behavior Model and variable reward — and checked for ethical use.
Value over time
Whether users keep experiencing progress and payoff, using the peak-end rule, endowment effect and IKEA effect.
Loss and cancellation moments
Renewal, downgrade and cancel flows, using loss aversion and framing — without dark patterns.
Segment sentiment
Reviews and interviews by segment to separate price objections from experience problems.
How it works
Week 1 — setup and observation: we agree scope and goals, get product access and walk the journeys with clean eyes.
Weeks 1–3 — evaluation: user interviews, app store and social review mining, competitor benchmarks and analysis against the principles below.
Weeks 2–4 — synthesis: a structured report where every finding states what is happening, why, the impact and what to do next, ranked by priority, plus a live findings session. See the full method.
What it costs
Most teams book this audit at the Growth tier: — series a–b · full product flows + funnel audit. It can also be scoped at Starter () or Enterprise (). Compare tiers.
Principles we evaluate
Motivation & emotionPeak-End Rule
People judge an experience mostly by how they felt at its most intense moment and at its end, not by the average of every moment.
Decision-makingLoss Aversion
Losses feel more powerful than equivalent gains — in many studies roughly twice as strong — so people work harder to avoid losing something than to gain it.
Motivation & emotionVariable Reward
Rewards that come unpredictably are more engaging than predictable ones, because anticipation of what might come next keeps people returning.
Motivation & emotionFogg Behavior Model
A behavior happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together at the same moment (B = MAP); if one is missing, the behavior doesn't happen.
Motivation & emotionEndowment Effect
People value things more once they feel they own them — including progress, content and customizations inside an app.
Motivation & emotionIKEA Effect
People place disproportionately high value on things they helped create, even when the result isn't perfect.
Motivation & emotionZeigarnik Effect
People remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones, and feel a pull to return and complete them.
Decision-makingFraming Effect
The same information leads to different decisions depending on how it is presented — for example, as a gain or as a loss.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a retention audit cost?
Most retention audits fit Growth at ₹1,95,000 in India and $6,650 in the US. Platform-wide or multi-segment work starts at ₹4,50,000 in India and $15,350 in the US.
How long does a retention audit take?
Usually 3 to 4 weeks, because it needs interviews with both active and churned users.
Can you talk to users who already churned?
Yes, if you can share contact details with their consent; churned-user interviews are often the most revealing part of the audit.
Do you recommend streaks and gamification?
Only when they support real value. Streaks rely on loss aversion and can backfire when one missed day makes users quit, so we test them against your users' goals.
Will you redesign our cancellation flow to stop people leaving?
We will make it clearer and give users fair reasons to stay, but we do not recommend obstruction or dark patterns, which damage trust and can breach consumer law.
Other audits
Mobile App UX Audit
A behavioral UX audit of your iOS or Android app: why users drop off, hesitate or churn, with prioritised fixes. 2–4 weeks, from ₹85,000 in India and $2,900 in the US.
SaaS UX Audit
A behavioral UX audit for SaaS products: trial-to-paid conversion, activation, feature adoption and pricing pages. 2–4 weeks, from ₹85,000 in India and $2,900 in the US.
Onboarding & Activation Audit
An onboarding and activation audit for apps and SaaS: find why new users drop off after sign-up and get them to first value faster. From ₹85,000 in India and $2,900 in the US.
Book your Retention audit.
Share your product and goals; we will confirm scope, tier and timeline.